We were mostly under glorious clear skies, and the setting full
moon was bright pre-dawn. A great day for walking, with no wind
and no rain, and mostly sunny conditions. Fairly warm too,
getting into the low 40’s pretty fast. It was quieter at times
than I’d thought it would be, but maybe birds were just busy
getting warm and dry, and eating up after days of less-good
weather. We were joined by Jim McCoy, previously a Marymoor
regular who moved out of state several years ago. Great to see
him again, and to help him get a good collection of west coast
specialties he doesn’t get in his current home.

Highlights:

SNOW GOOSE – First for 2018, one with a few
Canadas, on the lake!

Cackling Goose – Three flocks overhead, maybe 650
birds total

Scaup sp. – one in the slough that disappeared
before ID’d

California Gull – only 2nd for 2018

Barn Owl – flying the East Meadow from 6:38 until
6:50-something

- All 5 common woodpeckers – 2 Red-breasted
Sapsuckers were first since Jan.

House Finch – again the only finch, and few of
those to boot.

The SNOW GOOSE was our first March sighting, and by far the
latest winter sighting ever. Also, none of us could remember
seeing a Snow Goose actually *on* Lake Sammamish; they usually
show up either flying overhead, or landing with other geese on
the grass fields.

The GREAT BLUE HERONS were adding twigs to nests. The heronry
is really active right now; Brian counted 41 birds in the
heronry tree and its immediate neighbors. I’d expect we’ll see
some additional nests this year.

Misses today included Ring-necked Duck, Rock Pigeon, Virginia
Rail, Northern Shrike, Purple Finch, Pine Siskin, and Western
Meadowlark, all of which have been seen at least 12 of the last
24 years for this week. Most of these species have been notably
absent or rare this winter though, so (except for the pigeon) it
wasn’t a surprise to miss them today.

No swallows today, unless a single bird I saw flying north
was one.

A late look at the lake added HOODED MERGANSER and HORNED
GREBE to the day’s list, raising the total to 57 species, best
so far for 2018. The year list is up to 81 species.

The rain never got beyond spizzle (sort of a spitting drizzle
that barely wetted us), though the overcast was pretty dark all
morning. A touch of breeze now and then would have made things
cold, but the temps were in the low 40’s, so we were pretty
comfortable. It was moderately birdy.

Highlights:

Cackling Goose
Many small to middling flocks flying by
SWAN SP.
Two in a somewhat distant flyby, probably Trumpeter
American Wigeon
At least 2 below the weir
Horned Grebe
Two well out on the lake
Green Heron
Very dependable upon the beaver lodge
Bald Eagle
I believe they lost their nest; building a new one nearby
Red-tailed Hawk
Building a new nest near the site of the old odd-snag nest
BARN OWL
Matt saw and adult, heard babies inside windmill, early
Great Horned Owl
Heard up the hill west of the entrance
Western Screech-Owl Matt heard, early,
boardwalk
Short-eared Owl
East Meadow – third straight week
Hairy Woodpecker
Had a 4 woodpecker day, missing only Pileated
Tree Swallow
One seen
Bushtit
First of 2017 – maybe a half-dozen along slough
Varied Thrush
Heard and finally seen. First confirmed for 2017
Westerm Meadowlark Still hanging out around
model airplane field

We *might* have seen a Rufous Hummingbird, and Sara though
she heard one, but we can’t confirm. This would be about as
early as we’ve EVER had one, but it’s plausible. They should be
arriving very soon if not already.

After the walk, we had an Au Revoir party for Grace & Ollie
Oliver, who are moving to Poulsbo. We will miss them, and I will
greatly miss Ollie’s photographs which have constituted much of
the Bird Blog for the last many years.

Despite somewhat dire weather forecasts, this morning was
amazingly pleasant. There was some thunder and lightning long
before dawn, but for our walk, we had several hours of SUNSHINE.
No, really. And then, while it did start getting a touch
blustery, and while Big Dark Clouds blew past, we had only a few
moments of sprinkles. And the birds were out and about enjoying
it all, as we were.

Highlights:

Cackling Goose
1 flock twice, or 2 flocks of ~25
American Wigeon
Four, well below weir
Greater Scaup
Appear to be the same 3 we’ve been seeing
Green Heron
Juvenile on beaver lodge yet again
Virginia Rail
Heard “singing” east of East Meadow
Wilson’s Snipe
Four east of East Meadow
California Gull
Three in very bright breeding plumage
Band-tailed Pigeon
Flyover, 1 bird – First Of Year
Barn Owl
Sharon saw one pre-dawn at windmill
Red-breasted Sapsucker At least 2
birds, at least 3 sightings – FOY
Merlin
Seen twice along slough
Northern Shrike
Juvenile seen just before 7
-Swallows-
Mix of TREE and VIOLET-GREEN 50-60
Varied Thrush
Two singing near mansion just after 7 a.m.
Townsend’s Warbler
Male near mansion – FOY
Lincoln’s Sparrow
One below slough, briefly seen – FOY
Western Meadowlark
Flock of a dozen plus again north of Fields 7-8-9
Coyote
Two walked past the Viewing Mound ~6:45

The first SALMONBERRY blossoms of the year were seen, so
after the Rowing Club, I made a quick swing back down through
the Dog Area. Sure enough, at the very southern tip of the Dog
Meadow, I found a male RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD – First Of Year. This
is the earliest we’ve ever had Rufous Hummingbird; the previous
early date was 2015-03-05 (which is only 1 day later, since this
year is a leap year). OF NOTE IS THE FOLLOWING: This is the 9th
time we’ve had a RUHU prior to March 15th. Six of the 9 early
sightings are from the last 3 years!

For the day, a phenomenal 65 species. And FIVE new species
for the year to bring our year total to 84 species.

== Michael Hobbs

2nd-winter Ring-billed Gull. Photo by Ollie Oliver
American Wigeon, including a male with a lot of coppery tones in his
green head stripe. This is probably not an indication
of hybridization with Eurasian Wigeon; for certainly the bird looks
like an American in all other respects. Photo by Ollie Oliver

Female Downy Woodpecker.
Photo by Ollie Oliver

Male Common Goldeneye. Photo by Ollie Oliver

New heronry. On March 5, I counted 22 nests started.
Photo by Ollie Oliver

Great Blue Heron choosing just the right stick. Photo by Hugh
Jennings

We’d done pretty well for species count by the time we got to
the Rowing Club, though the only woodpecker we’d had was
NORTHERN FLICKER. But down near the old boathouse, we suddenly
had a RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER, two male DOWNY WOODPECKERS, and a
pair of HAIRY WOODPECKERS. Couldn’t turn up a Pileated though.

So, for the day, 60 species. We averaged 60.25 species/week
for February, after averaging 57 in January. Low count for the
year: 56 (thrice). 2015 is starting well!

What a glorious day today! It felt like spring, with temps
quickly rising from the low 40’s to the mid-50’s, and with the
thin overcast clearing to mostly sunshine. It was WAY birdy. We
passed last week’s total by the time we got to Dog Central!

Highlights:

TRUMPETER SWAN Four flew north
Wood Duck
Pair in slough south of Dog Area
American Wigeon
Matt had 17 early, we had a pair
Lesser Scaup
1-2 females
Great Blue Heron
26 on or near nests. One brought twigs
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 near
windmill
Cooper’s Hawk
Several sightings. Not sure how many birds
Wilson’s Snipe
1 on far shore of slough at Dog Central
6 Gull Species
Including Western, California, and HERRING
Red-breasted Sapsucker Drumming near mansion, + at
RC
Pileated Woodpecker 1 flew
into mansion area
Northern Shrike
East Meadow
TREE SWALLOW
3+, East Meadow
Townsend’s Warbler
Male south of mansion
Lincoln’s Sparrow
One glimpsed early at Compost Piles
W. MEADOWLARK One just before 7
a.m. at Compost Piles
Purple Finch
Pair near mansion, singing

We also had a MYSTERY BIRD THAT GOT AWAY. As we walked the
grass soccer fields looking at gulls, a small bird took off
unseen from the grass somewhere near us. The flight call
initially had me thinking American Pipit, but it soon became
clear that it wasn’t. Matt spotted the bird first in flight;
eventually most of us got increasingly distant views of the bird
as it flew off to the north. Based on flight calls and what
little we could see, it was probably either a SNOW BUNTING or
LAPLAND(?) LONGSPUR. Whatever it was, it would have been a GREAT
bird, if we could only have had a real look. Matt saw it best,
and thought the breast looked quite yellow/orange. More
distantly it appeared quite white underneath, and it seemed to
have significant white patches on the wings.

This afternoon, I did my annual garbage cleanup of the park.
The only additional bird I got for the day was HAIRY WOODPECKER.
But that made it a 5 woodpecker day. So, for the day, we had 65
species, plus the Mystery Bird That Got Away. For the walk
itself, 61 species in just 4.5 hours (7-11:30), equaling the 61
on our Long Day three weeks ago with a LOT more birding effort.

There were a bunch of year birds: Trumpeter Swan, Western
Gull, California Gull, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Tree Swallow,
Townsend’s Warbler, and Western Meadowlark. (Purple Finch was
also new for the Thursday surveys, though I’d had one on a visit
during Week 1). So with seven new year birds, I believe that
brings us to 84 species for the year.

Despite the rain, which got moderately heavy for a while there,
we had a great morning at Marymoor today. The mist started a
little after 7:00, and got slowly but steadily worse for a few
hours before tapering off again. But with warmish temps, and no
wind, it was certainly manageable. And it never really got that
heavy.

The birds were singing and even somewhat active!

Highlights:

American Wigeon
A few on puddle in grass/gravel parking lot
Horned Grebe
One well out on the lake
Virginia Rail
Heard from bend in the boardwalk
Western Gull
One looked pretty pure
THAYER’S GULL
Same bird as last week, maybe a 2nd as well
Barn Owl
1, good show, East Meadow, after 6 a.m.
Red-breasted Sapsucker 1 at Rowing Club
MERLIN
One landed just SW of mansion
Northern Shrike
One north of main road
Varied Thrush
At least 1 singing near mansion
Western Meadowlark
One, East Meadow
Red Crossbill
Still about a dozen near mansion

ALL of the AMERICAN ROBINS seemed to be singing today.
PACIFIC WRENS and MARSH WRENS were also in full song, as were
most of the species noted last week. Seemly a bit early for
them, a RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET was singing complete songs near the
Rowing Club building. I counted at least 27 GREAT BLUE HERONS at
the heronry, so I’d expect there will be more nests built this
spring.

After the walk, I stopped by the cabana on the lake, since
we’d seen what could have been a Common Loon when viewing from
the lake platform. I couldn’t confirm a loon, but I did see a
WESTERN GREBE. There were also TWO pairs of BALD EAGLES.

Sometime a little after 6 a.m., when we were looking for owls
from the Viewing Mound, Matt & I noticed a couple of EASTERN
COTTONTAIL RABBITS. For quite a while, they seemed to peacefully
chomping on grass next to each other. But then, after a short
bit of chasing, the two faced off, about 2 feet apart. They
seemed to glare at each other, and then they each bounced
straight up into the air about 2-3 feet several times. This was
a pure bounce – from a sitting position, they suddenly popped
into the air moving neither forward nor backward. They even
seemed stay level front-to-back. After a few bounces each, they
went back to being peaceful bunnies. ???

Big misses for the day: Either accipiter, Downy Woodpecker,
Lincoln’s Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Purple Finch, Pine
Siskin, and American Goldfinch. Additionally, House Finch was
heard-only. We’re still waiting on our first warbler of any kind
for 2013. White-crowned Sparrows have been virtually absent this
winter (VERY unusual). I think the 5 times we’ve had them this
year, it’s mostly just been a single juvenile. Where are the
Gambellii hordes?

For the day, 58 species! For the year, adding WESTERN
MEADOWLARK, we’re at 83 species.

It misted a bit, and there was an occasional
stiff cold breeze, but otherwise the weather was okay. Everybody
was pretty excited to look for the BOHEMIAN WAXWING, first seen
on Tuesday, and that lead to us scurrying back and forth chasing
waxwing flocks. When we finally got to the tree where I saw the
bird on Tuesday, voila - there it was, amongst 50 or so Cedar
Waxwings. The rest of the day was pretty good too.

Highlights:

Northern Pintail
Pair in slough below weir
MERLIN
One landed in a fir near the mansion
Virginia Rail
Matt heard rail(s) from the boardwalk early
Great Horned Owl
Matt heard one near the mansion early
Red-breasted Sapsucker One
near the graffitied picnic shelter
Northern Shrike
As usual, north of field 7, then in Snag Row
Varied Thrush
Heard near windmill
BOHEMIAN WAXWING Again, 100 yds. south of Dog
Central
Cedar Waxwing
100+ birds - very notable numbers
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Audubon's & Myrtle's types

Not very many ducks, gulls, or sparrows today, which kept the
day list down, though we still managed 56 species.

Ollie Oliver had a BAND-TAILED PIGEON on 2012-02-27, new for the
year list. That, plus the Bohemian, brings the year list to 85
species.

Ollie Oliver called me this afternoon, saying
that he'd photographed a BOHEMIAN WAXWING at Marymoor this
morning. I rushed down and had about 30 waxwings fly past, not
stopping as they whirled north. But I then heard more waxwing
calls. Moving forward, I caught a glimpse of another 25 waxwings
fly off following the first group. I was getting really
frustrated, but then noticed I was still hearing waxwing calls.

About 100 yards south of Dog Central (the dog swim beach with
the bulletin board, along the slough trail), I found another 50
waxwings that included one Bohemian.

This is a new bird for the Marymoor Park list, bringing the list
up to 221.

It wasn't exactly warm, and it rained lightly for the
first 2 hours or more this morning. Even after it stopped raining, it
was very damp and chill; I declared the day to be an honorary addition
to February. And for the most part, the birds agreed. But there are a
few weak signs of spring, and the species count was not down in February
depths.

Highlights:

Cackling Goose Still hundreds
Ring-necked Pheasant Heard for the
1st time in 2011
Wilson's Snipe 8-10 east of
East Meadow
Anna's Hummingbird I counted at
least 7
Red.-breasted Sapsucker 2, one drumming
Northern Shrike Near slough,
west of slough for a bit
Golden-crowned Kinglet Ubiquitous, some singing
Varied Thrush At least 2 at
Dog Central, mansion
Townsend's Warbler 3+ just east
of park office
Western Meadowlark One north of 7-8-9;
new for 2011

We had a big group of birders (20+) sorting through the
birds at Marymoor today, despite the damp and the mist. No swallows
today, and it otherwise didn't feel particularly spring-like, except for
the quantity and variety of bird song. Lots of (mostly ornamental)
fruit trees in bloom, though.

Highlights:

Wood Duck Pair in slough
Gr. White-fronted Goose 1 with a small flock of Canadas
Brown Creeper Notably many sightings
Cedar Waxwing About a dozen at Rowing Club
Western Meadowlark 2 near Compost Piles
Purple Finch LARGE flock at Rowing Club
(20+)
Coyote 1 on grass soccer fields at
7:00

At the Rowing Club, there was a pair of HOUSE FINCH, and the male
appeared to be ripping strips of bark off of a branch, presumably for
use as nesting material.

We had a dozen species of bird singing, including RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET,
FOX and GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS, and PURPLE FINCH.

For the day, 57-58 species. For the year, 78 species.

== Michael

P.S. I went to Seattle Opera's FALSTAFF last
night, and it was great. Everyone should go!

Knut Hansen found the Western Screech-Owl
posed where he could take flash photos

Isn't it getting kind of late in the winter for snow?
We had a couple of inches on the ground, and for a while we had heavy
snow falling too. Much of the morning, big snow clouds were
threatening, even if snow wasn't falling. Later, it got sunny, and the
trees started shedding their snow coats all over us. Not windy most of
the time, though, and no rain, so the cold was tolerable. And
beautiful. Can't forget to mention that. It was gorgeous. Not
terribly birdy, but not bad either. A small group of us today - 3 to
start, growing to about 6. Nice to have a small, compatible group.

Highlights:

Cackling Goose
Getting late for them, but at least 1 flock overhead
Barn Owl
Again visible in its day roost near the windmill
Northern Shrike
East Meadow and west of the mansion. 2 birds?
Winter Wren
Gave us a GREAT show a the Rowing Club
American Robin
100's on the ground everywhere that wasn't snowcovered
Yellow-rumped Warbler Maybe 10 or more at Rowing Club - great looks
Fox Sparrow Good
comparison views with Song Sparrow - lots too
Western Meadowlark One singing east of the mansion

Ollie also found us a RIVER OTTER on the lake, our only
mammal for the day, though we did see bunny tracks.

For the day, 51 species. The Meadowlark brings our year
total to 80.

== Michael

American Robin in a snowy European Hawthorn

Golden-crowned Sparrows under the same hawthorn

Double-crested Cormorant in the snow in the slough

Sure was pretty

The Barn Owl was a bit less visible this week

Male Anna's Hummingbird on watch southwest of the mansion

Northern Shrike west of the mansion

The Western Meadowlark flew in front of
us...

...and landed in a Black Cottonwood near our
cars

Yellow-rumped Warbler at the Rowing Club

Winter Wren gave us great looks at the
Rowing Club

Ollie Oliver snapped this female Common
Goldeneye in the snow

Ollie Oliver's portrait of a pair of
Mallards

Ollie's Brown Creeper

Ollie got a closer shot of the male Anna's
Hummingbird

Ollie caught a different angle on the Winter
Wren.

Report for February 28, 2008

It was misting gently almost the whole morning,
occasionally letting up, and never even getting close to drizzle, so all
in all the weather wasn't bad. Temps in the high 40's to low 50's also
were pleasant. There was certainly a lot of bird song today, and quite a
few bird individuals, but it often felt a bit "quiet". We had,
basically, no
surprizes -- we saw pretty much what we expected to see, and had no new
spring arrivals. Next week for sure.

Highlights:

Red-breasted Sapsucker 2 at Rowing Club, 1 drumming
Northern Shrike 1 along southeast edge of East
Meadow
Bushtits EVERYWHERE, after missing them
last week
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Constant chorus of song
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2+ at Rowing Club
Purple Finch MANY small groups seen, no red
males

Another highlight were two RACCOONS in a tree on the east side of the
slough. The warmth brought both Painted Turtle and Red-eared Slider
onto the logs at the Rowing Club pond.

The Oso Berry (Indian Plum) is beginning to come out in full bloom. The
hazelnuts are dropping catkins. Some of the willows are in full
bloom. Snowdrops were blooming north of the windmill.

For the day, 55 species plus a maybe Lincoln's Sparrow and a maybe
Winter Wren.

== Michael

Raccoons sleeping in birch trees on the west
shore of the slough.
Photo by Ollie OIiver

Female Purple Finch. Photo by Ollie Oliver

American Crows, probably a pair involved in
allopreening.
Photo by Ollie Oliver

Steller's Jay mobbing a Red-tailed Hawk near
the Rowing Club

Closer look...

Report for March 01, 2007

Once again, my fears about the weather proved
unfounded. There was about 1.5" of snow on the ground, and it was
cold. But it was mostly a very pleasant, sunny, windless morning. My
fingers and toes got cold for a bit, but warmed up after about 9:00. We
had a few snow flakes drifting down lazily, but no real precipitation (i.e
no rain). Really, it was gorgeous, with nice light. And birdy. We had
a more-manageable group size of eight people today.

Highlights:

The morning began with Ryan spotting a MERLIN flying
to a tall, slender snag near the mansion. After posing for over a
minute (*just* long enough for Louise to get her scope set up) it then
flew quickly low across the parking lot and down a trail, snagging a
sparrow off of the path in front of us, before carrying its breakfast
back to the trees around the mansion. We've seen this Merlin four times
already this year. It is not a black Pacific Merlin, but probably a Taiga
- quite pale breasted.

We had good looks at a male HAIRY WOODPECKER just a bit south of Dog
Central, but across the slough. We've seen a male Hairy 7 weeks out of
9 so far in 2007. I think it's been all this same bird, as he's been
hanging out in the same general area.

From the lake platform, we had two distant and unidentifiable
SWALLOWS, probably TREE, but who knows. In any case, our first swallows
of the year.

Not too far north of the east end of the boardwalk, I spotted a
NORTHERN SHRIKE - further south than I've ever seen one at Marymoor.
Later, probably the same adult shrike was in the East Meadow.

At the Compost Piles, Matt spotted 3 AMERICAN PIPITS. This is NOT
the normal season for them. This is just our second pipit sighting
outside the late-April to early May spring pulse and the
September-November fall push. We had one sighting January 7, 2004, and
now today's.

Northeast of the mansion, we had a RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER that gave
us quick-but-good looks as it moved through the trees.

Also in those conifers was a GREAT HORNED OWL - we could find only
one. In the last couple of weeks there have been 1-2 seen in those
trees quite often, including one sitting atop a possible nest. Today
the owl was in the tree next to the potential nest - about the same spot
as it was last week. The "nest" was empty.